Don't expect a repeat of Norwegian 2011 Tour de France success, warns Boasson Hagen

Image 1 of 4

Don't expect as many Norwegian wins in the Tour de France this year as there were in 2011, Edvald Boasson Hagen has warned. “We will be happy if we get one Norwegian stage win,” the Team Sky rider said, and of course he hopes that he would bring in that win.

In 2011, Norwegian cycling had more wins than ever in the Tour. Thor Hushovd won the team time trial with Garmin-Cervelo and wore the leader's yellow jersey for seven days, before going on to win stages 13 and 16. Boasson Hagen also won two stages, the sixth and the seventeenth.

“It is clear that expectations rise when you do well, but it is hard to live up to what happened last year. I will however do my best, and have a goal of winning a stage,” he told the Norwegian website tv2.no.

His task will not be made easier by the fact that Sky teammate Bradley Wiggins will be going for the yellow jersey and teammate Mark Cavendish the green jersey.

He will “mainly be used” as a domestique, he said. “It goes without saying that this can be a little rough. But there are 21 stages, which means there are 21 possibilities. So it's about taking the chances you get.”

Boasson Hagen sees a good chance for Wiggins in France this year. “I have faith that he can be fight for the top. He has done very well this year and has been very high up in the overall in the Tour de France before. Last year, he was unlucky when he broke his collarbone, because he seemed very strong when it happened.”